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1/32 Hasegawa Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden 'Jack'


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Hello gents,

 

I do at times wonder what guides us in the choices we make with regard to the kits that we build; I don't generally step outside the boundaries of the proper scale for model aircraft - 1/72 of course - and yet somehow I have found myself in possession of the Hasgawa 1/32 J2M3 Raiden as well as the Tamiya A6M2 Zero in the same scale. I do have a fondness for both aircraft obviously or else I shouldn't have bought them in the first place, I like the elegant lines of the Zero and the slightly stubby but powerful terrier-like look of the Raiden - in addition its Allied reporting name was 'Jack', the same as my own terrier (his name I mean, he was not involved in the Second World War and had no Allied code-name; also I like to think that if he had been involved he would at least have been on 'our' side but sometimes his behaviour does lead me to wonder...)

 

Anyway as they say, we are where we are, and thanks to a scandalously low-price offer from Tiger Hobbies I am now the proud but perhaps a little bemused owner of this:

 

DSCN6849.jpg

 

... and the box contains the following; instructions and transfers:

 

DSCN6851.jpg

 

... and the following sprues:

 

DSCN6854.jpg

 

DSCN6856.jpg

 

DSCN6857.jpg

 

DSCN6860.jpg

 

DSCN6863.jpg

 

DSCN6865.jpg

 

Some points of interest from my initial cursory look include several optional parts including a different set of propellers, a really nice pilot figure with three optional heads and a choice of arms, a one-piece slide-moulded forward cowling and optional open or closed canopy parts.

 

I didn't really have anything in the way of references but fortunately Nick Millman's Aviation of Japan blog has a .pdf available of colour notes for the Raiden which is done in his usual exactingly thorough way and will, I have no doubt, prove invaluable. It's on the right-hand side of the webpage, scroll down a bit if you are interested in obtaining a copy. I'll have a peruse of that and work out what paints I need to use. 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

 

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I'm in as well as I will be building the same kit later on this year, and I followed the same route and got a copy of Nick's Raiden colour notes as I know next to nothing about Japanese aircraft.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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Thanks gents and welcome :)

 

As we already through the looking glass here I thought I might as well go the full nine yards, so I got this set from Maketar in order that I might paint the markings - or at least the larger ones - instead of using the transfers:

 

DSCN6871.jpg

 

I sorted out my paints too - for the exterior, these:

 

DSCN6867.jpg

 

ACJ03 IJN D2 Black Green/IJA #27 Blue Green for the uppersurfaces, ACJ08 Mistubishi Cowl Blue-Black (Q1) for the anti-glare panel and the radio shelf behind the pilot, and ACJ12 IJA #1 Hai Ryoku Shoku for the undersides (technically it should be J3 paint of the Imperial Japanese Navy but it is a very close match and no-one will be any the wiser as long as I don't blab...)

 

For the bulk of the interior and the markings, these:

 

DSCN6869.jpg

 

ACJ18 Interior Olive Green, ACJ19 ID Yellow and ACJ20 Hinomaru Red. 

 

I'm on the closing stages of my second 1/72 scale Kawanishi 'Emily'* which I hope to get finished this weekend so hopefully I'll get moving on this one shortly... :)

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

* I know. It's a long story.

 

 

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22 hours ago, amblypygid said:

Without the cowling, those sprue shots make it look positively Polikarpovesque.

Now there's an idea for a really weird "What If?" model!

 

I've only recently discovered the charms of the Raiden so I'm keen to follow along too.

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Hi Cookie, Zac, welcome along gents :)

 

I started assembling the cockpit internals:

 

DSCN6874.jpg

 

... and applied the base colours:

 

DSCN6875.jpg

 

Hasegawa recommend one of two colours for the interior parts, Mitsubishi Interior Green or RLM82 Hellgrun. I painted the bulk of the interior in the Interior Olive Green colour and just to see I painted the side console in RLM82 - I'm not sure whether the implication of Hasegawa offering a choice of these two colours is that they are a near match (which they are clearly not) or whether some interiors were painted in the first colour and others in a colour similar to RLM82 (which is possible, I suppose, if the parts were produced at more than one factory or if they just used whatever paint they were issued for the interior). The horizontal decking behind the pilot's seat which houses the radio was painted in the same cowl blue-black colour as the anti-glare strip forward of the cockpit, presumably to reduce reflection. Unlike the strip on the cowling this did not get a regular wipe-over with a rag to remove oily streaks blown back from the engine, so the decking paint 'chalked' a bit to a slightly lighter flat blue-grey. I added a little USN Intermediate Blue to the Cowl Blue-Black to give an impression of this. Some of the sidewall boxes need to be painted a dark green colour and others - and the radio set - semi-gloss black. I'll have to use my imagination for the various lever-knob colours and there are transfers for the instrument dials and one of the side console boxes so it should look quite busy in there when it is done. Additionally I started work on the pilot:

 

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Very nicely moulded; I shall see if I can do a decent enough job to warrant installing him.

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

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2 minutes ago, Procopius said:

...This isn't 1/72!

I'd very much like to see a new-tool 1/72 Raiden, hopefully once they have done the Ki-61 Tamiya might step up to the plate for us as they seem to be on a Japanese fighter roll at the moment, though their release rate is glacial... 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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Thanks gents :)

 

Dennis, the colour in those pictures certainly does look closer to RLM82 - I'll go with what I've got as it matches Nick's notes more closely and as noted above it could be that different aircraft might have had different paints (I've no idea if this is the case but it is certainly true that Mitsubishi painted the interiors of early and late Dinahs in completely different colours). Bit gutted they seem to have left most of the lever knobs unpainted, I was looking forward to adding a bit of colour to the interior... which I did, of course; I did most of the detail painting and applied a brown wash (Citadel Agrax Earthshade) and a coat of matt varnish to seal the IP and console transfers:

 

DSCN6884.jpg

 

I'm not that happy with the transfers for the instruments but I think they will serve when it is all closed up. Still got a couple of knobs to paint and maybe fancy-up the radio a bit but so far so good... :)

 

On 2/19/2018 at 4:34 PM, Cookenbacher said:

I was hoping there'd be a pilot figure.

 

There sure is Cookie:

 

DSCN6882.jpg

 

There's a choice of two right arms (saluting, or holding the joystick) and three heads (all helmeted; helmet undone, helmet done up and helmet done up and oxygen mask fitted - as you can see I went for the latter. There is a separate oxygen pipe but I test-fitted then left this off for now to make the painting a bit easier). I needed a (very) little filler at the joins, but it is a very nicely done figure and the optional heads and arms is a nice touch. Once the glue had set I gave him an overall coat of a suitable brown for Japanese Navy flying overalls:

 

DSCN6886.jpg

 

I think there is probably about a week's worth of painting right there :D

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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I reckon you're right Cookie, I think the Osprey 'Uniforms of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force' book I bought will prove its worth again :)

 

John - no worries mate, thanks for looking, I shall have a scratch around and see what I can find; besides the pilot will block off most of the cockpit anyway so not much will be seen :)

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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Thanks Jamie, don't worry, I'll just make some stuff up and hope nobody notices :D

 

The pilot may not take as long as I thought; I started blocking in the main colours:

 

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... and before I knew it I got here:

 

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... which called for one of these:

 

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Tomorrow I'll give that little chap a shading wash on his uniform and start the detail painting...

 

:cheers:

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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